


Without a Sound (I Wish You Away)

by bleedmagiq



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dreams, Explicit Language, Fluff, Heartless Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Humor, Implied Soriku, Implied Zemyx, Nightmares, and beat everyone i possibly could with it, au- sora stays a heartless, everyone is gonna need a hug, i take an angst bat, implied akusai but they r divorced
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28005015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleedmagiq/pseuds/bleedmagiq
Summary: Roxas held the creature out in front of him, and for a moment he felt as if he had a heart. Deep within him, he felt as though he had a bond with this heartless, like they were somehow connected. It almost felt as if they were two halves of one whole, two halves who were meant to be together.“I’m keeping him,” Roxas declared.-Or, an alternate universe following the events of the first game, in which Sora stays a heartless, Roxas keeps him, and Riku searches for him.
Relationships: Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Demyx & Zexion (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Sora and the Organization Members (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 39





	Without a Sound (I Wish You Away)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fever days are here  
> Blackout memory encompassing  
> Glamour casts a light on what is secret  
> Limited to none on this sterile ground we walk  
> You remind me of something I've lost

Behind them, Hollow Bastion’s keyhole hummed, and the trio wondered how they were ever going to seal it. Sora turned to look at Kairi’s lifeless body, but something else had caught his eye. 

Ignorant to the thoughts going through his head, Donald and Goofy quietly talked from behind, attempting to create a plan of their own. As the boy eavesdropped, his thoughts cleared and he became more and more convinced that his plan was the only way. 

“A keyblade that unlocks people's hearts… I wonder.”

Slowly, Sora walked over to the keyblade Riku, who wasn’t really Riku, had dropped after his defeat. 

“Sora…?” 

The boy ignored Goofy and approached the blade. Without hesitation, he picked it up, summoned his own keyblade, and placed it in Kairi’s hand. 

_To lock the door. To finish this once and for all._

At the same time, his friends had shouted,

“Sora! Hold on!”

“Wait!” 

Sora didn’t wait, and he didn’t hold on. He couldn’t, because there was no other way to wake Kairi up. Even if this meant losing his own heart, he had to do it. For all the other princesses. For every other world out there. 

For Riku.

For Kairi. 

For _home._

He looked blade up and down, and turned to his friends. His dear friends. _They’ll be okay_ , he thought. _They’re strong. They can finish this fight._ Sora turned to them, and gave them a smile. A goodbye. 

And then he did it. Without further thought, Sora put the blade through his chest. And damn, did it hurt. But that was okay, because as he was slipping away, he heard Kairi. 

Kairi got her heart back. 

Kairi was awake, and that was all that mattered. 

_What’s… what’s happening to me? Falling… falling… into darkness._

* * *

_Day 1_

Deep within Sora’s heart resided two others. One who had taken refuge, and one who was rather reluctant to join him in the end. Together, they stayed in the younger ones heart until the day they could awaken.

But, when he looked up, his breath hitched and he felt his heart drop. Around him, the heart that had become his home was now being engulfed in darkness. It was almost as if… 

_“Vanitas? What’s going on?”_

_“What do you think, dipshit? Something happened to Sora. I think he-”_

_“He’s falling to darkness.” Ventus said, cutting off his other._

_“Bingo.”_

_“Well, we have to do something!"_

Vanitas scoffed. _“Like what? It’s not like we can stop him from becoming a… what's it called? A heartless? It’s too late for that. Look around Ven, darkness everywhere.”_

_“Yeah, we can’t stop what’s already done, but can’t we protect him somehow? I don’t know… stop the darkness from spreading further? Think about it, Vanitas. If he’s gone, so are we. If not for him, then for us.”_

Vanitas thought about it. It was possible. They could stop the darkness from taking his whole heart. In the end, Sora would still be a heartless, but he wouldn’t be gone for good. Not yet.

Vanitas sighed. _“You’re making me sound like an asshole. ‘Course I wanna do it for him too. But, we gotta act quick, so listen up.”_

* * *

How did he get here? Where was he? Who was he?

Slowly, the creature walked along the path of the mysterious world surrounded by darkness. 

How did he get here? Where was he? Who was he?

Something inside of him told him to keep going, so he did. 

_K… keep… walking._

* * *

_Day 5_

He had never stopped walking, but where was he going? Stranded, lost, and clueless was a bad combination in a world like this. Occasionally, he had seen others like him. 

Was this his home?

Sometimes, words came back to him, but he never knew what they meant.

_S... s… Sora._

What was a Sora?

* * *

_Day 10_

The silence was deafening, but he kept going. Once, he had looked in the water and saw a face looking back at him. Initially, he was afraid, but he then realized that… this was him. He stared back at his wide, yellow eyes in curiosity.

What was he? And why was he born here? 

He began to think that maybe he was simply doomed to loneliness.

In spite of that, he kept walking. 

* * *

_Day 15_

Sometimes, he saw visions of a world much brighter than his own, of a soft tan ground and bright blue water crashing on it, and two oddly familiar children who sat together. Sometimes, they were on a tree, and on this tree hung a funny looking object that looked a bit like a star. 

And sometimes, words came along with the blurry faces, but he could never remember what they were. Only that one began with a R, and the other a K.

* * *

_Day 20_

In every one of his dreams, he saw that boy. The same boy who appeared in his visions had lived in his dreams. Sometimes, he dreamt of a betrayal that left him feeling sick when he woke up, and sometimes he dreamt of races and spars and wind blowing in his hair. 

But most of the time, he dreamt of sitting on the beach, watching the night sky above them. From it, lights and stars fell, making patterns the boy couldn’t tear his eyes from. But to his side, his friend began to cry. In an attempt to comfort him, the boy climbed on a rock and held a wooden sword up to the sky. On this rock, he made the declaration to keep the younger boy safe, sealing the promise with a necklace that looked far too familiar. 

Each time, he woke up with an indefinable swelling in his chest. It ached in a way he could never understand, but he would simply push it away, not willing to question the identity of the boy, the reasons for the way he makes him feel, and the meaning of his dreams. 

As a distraction, he kept walking along the path of his lonely world. 

* * *

_Day 25_

Defeated, Aqua sank down on the beach and groaned with her face in her hands as the events that happened just days before played in her head again.

_Together, she and Mickey had pushed open the wooden door, and there it was. The dark realms keyblade. Soon, a bright light flashed, and in front of them stood the door._

_“Is that the one?” Aqua asked breathlessly. This is her chance… she’s going to find a way out of this hellhole with Mickey._

_“Yep,” the mouse responded. “The door to Kingdom hearts. Well, not the one you know. Not exactly. But even if it’s smaller, and isn’t complete, we need to close it, or else the darkness will destroy the remaining worlds.”_

_Aqua sighed. Ahead of her, she saw a young boy with silver hair running towards the door._

_“Don’t give up!” He then stopped in front of it, and shouted._

_“Come on, Sora! Toge-”_

_Then came a deafening silence._

_“Kairi? Where’s Sora?! I- wha- W-why do you have his keyblade?!” he sputtered._

_Silence again._

_“Kairi, what happe-”_

_Although quiet, Aqua heard her speak._

_“He isn’t here, Riku. He lost his heart. And I- I woke up with his keyblade, and he was gone. I don’t know, there’s no time to explain this. We have to close this damn door!”_

_The silver-haired boy, presumably Riku, shook himself out of his thoughts, and tried to help the other child, Kairi, close the door._

_Kairi… that name sounded familiar._

_“Sora’s… gone?” Mickey whispered. Aqua looked down at the mouse, and he looked sad. Was Sora another child, just like those two? A child, who lost their life fighting for the safety of everyone else. It sounded far too familiar, and the thought tasted like ash in her mouth. Just like Riku, Mickey shook himself out of his thoughts, and shouted. “We need to get moving, Aqua. Now!”_

_But before they could get far, they were ambushed by a swarm of heartless. With her magic, Aqua fought to hold them down._

_For a moment, she wondered if her return to the Realm of Light was more important than the fate of the worlds._

_Of course it isn’t. Aqua needed to do this._

_“Mickey go!”_

_Shocked, Mickey looked back at her._

_“You need to go without me!” She pleaded._

_Before any more could be said, the swarm of heartless broke free and flew out the door the two had come in, taking Aqua with them._

And here she was now. Just her luck, huh? She was so close, and it was taken right from under her. Despite it all though, Aqua knew she couldn’t give up. One day, soon enough, she’d return to the Realm of Light and to her dearest friends. 

Her thoughts were cut off by the familiar chattering of the heartless, and she quickly got up. 

_Weird… they never come on the beach._ She spun around, and right behind her was… a heartless?

It sounded like a heartless, and had the eyes of one too, yet something about this one was different. It seemed… innocent. It wasn’t hurting her, just staring with those wide-eyes. 

And in her heart, she could feel a connection. 

Slowly, she walked up to it.

“Who are you?”

The creature only titled its head and chattered. Even the chattering sounded different as she drew closer. 

The closer she got, the stronger the connection felt. With caution, Aqua lifted her hand, and when the heartless didn’t react, she placed it on it’s head and began to pet it. 

Did it just purr? 

“No way you’re a heartless,” she chuckled. “You’re some kind of cat.”

It had only looked up, and when their eyes met, the connection was burning holes into Aqua’s heart. 

Did she know who this once was? She must’ve, because the pull in her heart only grew stronger. 

“Hey there, little guy,” she cooed. 

Aqua picked up the creature and walked back to her spot on the beach to sit down. 

“You know,” she said, moving the heartless to look at its face. “This is probably the weirdest thing I’ve done.”

The heartless chattered like it understood her, and Aqua chuckled. She put it down, allowing it to get comfortable on her lap. It really was just a cat, wasn’t it?

It curled up and began to doze off, and Aqua pet its head as it purred. Together, they sat at the shore of the beach, neither alone anymore. 

* * *

Kairi's return home was painfully lonely. 

As she watched the stars above her return, all that she could think about was how during it all, she was alone. 

No Riku, and no Sora. 

And Kairi couldn’t help but think that this was her fault. 

Before departing, Donald and Goofy explained to the girl that she couldn’t tell anybody at home of their adventure so that the so-called “World Order” could be protected. Kairi understood this, but it only frustrated her. What was she supposed to say instead? She feared the wrath of her parents, and what they had to say on her sudden disappearance. But, this wasn’t what she feared most. Kairi dreaded the inevitable confrontation with the mother of Sora, and how it was in her hands to explain why he was gone. 

Kairi figured she would go to her first.

When she knocked on the door of Sora’s home, Taiyō Ikeda answered it almost instantly. At first, the mother was excited, but her face then warped into confusion. 

“Kairi.” 

Kairi looked down and shuffled awkwardly. “Hi, Ms. Ikeda.” 

After a deathly silence as Taiyō stared at the girl in shock, she finally spoke.

“I’m sorry, Kai. Please, come inside,” she said as she moved out of the way. Kairi stepped inside the home and followed her to the kitchen. 

“Would you like some tea?” Taiyō asked, visibly nervous. She was even shaking. Kairi sighed.

“No thank you, Ms. Ikeda. I- uh… I came to talk to you about something, actually. Something important.”

At that, Taiyō froze in fear. “Kairi… where’s my Sky? Where’s Sora?”

Slowly, Kairi sat down at the kitchen table, gesturing for Taiyō to join her.

In the end, Kairi didn’t know what was worse. Telling Sora’s mother that her son was missing, the fact that she couldn’t tell her why, or the part where she held Taiyō in her arms as she cried. 

Eventually, Kairi left to return to her own home and finally see her parents again. 

As she walked under the stars, Riku’s final words to her rang in the back of her head. 

_“I’ll find him, Kairi. I’ll find Sora, and I’ll bring him home.”_

* * *

Riku couldn’t stand it here. With those mysterious those people in black, he swore he was going to go fucking insane. And, if Ansem were to show up again, Riku didn’t know if he could fight much longer. 

“Why do you shun the darkness?”

Ah, speak of the devil. 

“Leave me the fuck alone, Ansem. I’m not here for you.” 

Ansem chuckled. “Not here for me, huh? Who is it you’re here for, then? Is it Sora?”

Riku felt a sudden presence behind him and jumped, turning to see Ansem. The boy scowled. “Don’t you dare say his name.”

Ansem only ignored him and continued. “Sora, who you failed? You know what happened. He lost his heart. He’s gone, Riku, and it’s because of you.”

Riku’s vision went blurry. “Shut up!” 

“You know it’s true, Riku. The darkness is your greatest weapon.” 

Riku screamed and summoned Soul Eater. Instantly, he charged at Ansem, only to be blocked and thrown to the ground. 

“You’re weak, Riku. Surrender to the darkness! Only it can offer you the strength you need. Maybe even the strength to find your dear friend.” 

Riku, on his hands and knees, watched his tears hit the floor. Ansem was right. He was weak. It was his fault that Sora is gone. If he had never gotten jealous, greedy, obsessive… It was all his fault. 

_Sora… I’m so sorry, Sora._

His heart called out to Sora, desperate to be heard and forgiven, and above him, Riku heard a twinkling. He jerked his head up, and there he saw a ball of light. It did a blinding attack, and Ansem was gone from the room. 

Shocked, Riku stood up. The light moved closer towards him, and his eyes filled with tears. 

“Sora?” his voice wavered. 

The ball of light only moved closer to him, and Riku smiled. 

“Thank you, Sora.” 

Once the light had entered Riku, he fell to the floor crying.

Sora wasn’t gone, and he forgave him. 

* * *

Aqua woke up to the creature batting at her face.

“He- Hey!” She caught its paws. “What’re you doing?”

The heartless only made a whimpering sound as it jerked it’s head to the side. Following it’s instructions, Aqua looked to her side, and she couldn’t believe it. 

Was that… a Corridor of Light? 

Quickly, she stood up, dropping her friend in the process. It made a tiny squeal of terror. 

“Oh! I’m sorry, little guy,” she said as she picked it up. This was real, and she was finally able to leave. Aqua hadn’t noticed she was crying until the heartless poked at her cheeks, making a sad sound. 

“I’m okay,” she cooed. “Just… just happy. That’s all.”

With the heartless in her hands, Aqua walked to the corridor. 

“Are you ready?” Aqua asked, but she couldn’t tell if it was for her friend or for herself. 

The heartless made a happy squeal, and Aqua smiled. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stepped in. 

At first, she didn’t feel a difference, and then, at once, she felt all the difference in the world. Aqua opened her eyes and saw a familiar purple sky. She followed the pattern of the stars and spotted Yen Sid’s tower. 

Aqua fell to her knees and let out the most joyful laugh ever, even if it was full of sobs. She made it... She was in the Realm of Light! 

She turned her head to see the heartless, but it was nowhere to be found. She looked behind herself, but the corridor had closed.

 _I guess it wasn’t meant to leave the Realm of Darkness._

Steadily, Aqua stood up and walked to the door of the tower.

“Terra, Ven, I’ll be there soon.” 

* * *

The heartless tumbled through the Corridor of Light, and landed face first on the hard floor, making a distressed squeal in the process. 

Annoyed, he stood back up to reprimand his new friend, because how dare she drop him? However, when he turned to stomp his way towards her, he realized she was nowhere to be found.

_What?_

He looked all around him, but neither her nor the corridor could be found. He thought she wouldn’t leave him, but maybe he truly was destined to be alone. He looked around again, now finding himself in a new world with a castle. Once again, the lonely heartless began to walk, making his way towards the castle.

As he made it to the entrance, the creature slipped in, and all around him was white. He huffed and kept moving forward.

After what felt like hours of walking through the bare white castle, he stumbled upon a strange man with fire red hair. 

“What the hell?”

* * *

Axel sighed as he walked away from the Mansion in the world he loved so dearly. He looked down at his hands, thinking over what he had just done. Just like that, Vexen was gone. 

_“Among the members assigned to Castle Oblivion, there are traitors. Find them, and dispose of them.”_

Saïx’s words echoed in the back of his head, and Axel shivered. Vexen wasn’t a traitor, Axel wasn’t commanded to get rid of him. But, that damned replica project was getting out of hand, and he had to do something about it. 

Before he could get lost in his own thoughts, Axel opened a Corridor of Darkness and returned to Castle Oblivion, where Marluxia was waiting for him. 

“And where have you been?” Marluxia asked coldly. 

Axel daggered him with a side-eye and scoffed. “Why would it matter to you, creep?”

Marluxia stood up and walked past him. Looking back, he remarked, “Just don’t want someone like you getting in trouble for slacking off. We still have a chosen keyblade wielder to find.” With that, he left, leaving Axel alone. 

“Yeah, yeah,” the redhead mumbled as he looked around the room. It was exceedingly bare except for the sketch book that belonged to Naminé, the nobody who wasn’t much younger than Roxas. Axel walked over to the book and inspected the pictures inside. The entire thing was littered of drawings of a brunette boy and his friends. Upon a closer look, he realized the brunette was the boy they were searching for. 

Sora. 

It always tied back to Sora, didn’t it? They were sent to the castle to lure the kid and take his memories, but he was nowhere to be found. And now, their only lead was a distraught fifteen year old kid who was searching for Sora like his life depended on it. 

He figured he could use that boy to his advantage eventually. 

Axel flipped the page, and the next picture was Sora, the boy, and a girl he didn’t quite recognize all sitting on a tree, watching the sunset. He smiled softly, being reminded of his own tradition with his own friend.

Axel sighed, debating whether or not he should pay Roxas a visit. Sure, he missed him, but he had his own job to do, and he was running out of time. 

Axel left the room, going into the secluded hallway to open a corridor. However, he paused when he heard the chatter of a heartless beside him. Sighing, Axel summoned his chakras, ready for it to lunge at him so he could dispose of it and move on with his day. However, the creature never moved. It just sat, and stared, and tilted his head towards the man.

He dismissed the weapons and looked at the heartless curiously. It didn't look like any other shadow heartless he’d seen before. It looked softer, and friendlier, and… pretty cute, actually. 

“What the hell?”

The creature chattered back at him, and Axel noticed even the chattering sounded different. Steadily, he reached his hand over to the creature, and when it didn’t attack him, he placed his hand on its head and pet it. And… was it purring?

Then, Axel had an idea, and an excuse to see a friend. 

He scooped up the creature and opened the corridor. He moved the heartless so he could look at its face. “You good if I take you with me?”

The creature gave happy sounding chatter, and Axel took it as a yes. Together, they stepped through the corridor. 

* * *

As the two were fighting the Darkside, Roxas dropped his keyblade. _Shit._ Quickly, he braced for impact, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, there Xion stood with the keyblade and the now defeated Darkside fading away. 

Roxas gaped. “Xion! I- I didn’t know you could do that!” 

“You know,” Xion laughed. “Neither did I.”

Roxas laughed with her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, you’ve earned the icing on the cake.”

She looked at him confused. “The what?” 

Roxas smiled brightly and looked at her. “Come on, just follow me! I’ll show you.”

He grabbed Xion’s hand and pulled her towards the familiar stand he and Axel always went to after missions. Then pulled her up to the familiar edge of the clocktower, with the familiar view of the sun that always set red. Roxas sat down, patting the spot next to him for Xion to join.

“Wow, Roxas. This spot is amazing… How did you even find it?”

He was ecstatic. He knew then that he and Xion were gonna be good friends, just like him and Axel. Roxas reached his hand over to Xion to give her the icing on the cake. 

“Heeere ya go!” he beamed. “Sea-salt ice cream. Try it!”

Xion gave him a funny look, but took it anyway. She tried it, and flinched back.

“It-it’s salty!”

Roxas pointed his finger at her. “But sweet too! It’s good, isn’t it?”

Xion gave it another bite, and this time, she didn’t flinch.“Yeah, Roxas. It is.”

Roxas smiled at the girl. “Yeah… A friend of mine showed me this place. We go all the time, actually. It’s Axel! You know, number eig-”

Roxas was suddenly cut off by the sound of a Corridor of Darkness opening, and from it emerged Axel. Speak of the devil! Roxas got excited, so excited, actually, that he dropped his ice cream over the edge of the tower, and he thought he might’ve heard someone scream at the bottom. 

“Axel!” he shouted. “You’re back early!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said while messing Roxas’s hair up. “Not done with the job yet, but I had a break and had a feeling I would find you here.” Axel turned his head, seeing his new friend. 

“Hey, Rox, who’s this?”

“Oh!” Roxas laughed. “That’s Xion! Number fourteen!” He turned over to her. “Xion, say h-”

Xion had that funny look on her face again, looking at Roxas and then back at Axel. Confused, Roxas looked back at Axel with her, and then he saw it. 

Axel laughed awkwardly. “Uh… why’s everyone staring at me?”

Silence 

“Guys, come on!”

Slowly, Roxas raised his finger, pointing at the top of Axel’s head. Confused, Axel put his hands on his head, smacking the creature who was sitting there. 

“Oh shit! I’m sorry little guy!” 

“Axel, what the hell? Is that a heartless?” Roxas probed. 

“Yes, but no.”

Xion deadpanned. “Elaborate, please.”

“Okay well, he’s a heartless yeah, but he isn’t like one I’ve ever seen before. Look at him!” Axel slipped his hands under the creature's little arms and lifted it up off his head, holding him up proudly between his friends. 

They looked at him like he was insane. 

“Oh come on, guys! It’s cute, and nice! He’s like a cat or something!” ‘

Xion shrugged and walked past Roxas, who was still in disbelief. 

“Hey, little guy,” she cooed while scratching his head.

“It’s... purring.” Roxas stated matter-of-factly. 

“Exactly!” Axel shouted. “He’s seriously just a cat trapped in a different body. I had a feeling you would like him, Rox.”

“We’re deciding it’s a he?” Xion inquired. 

“I mean, he didn’t say otherwise to me.” 

Roxas laughed. “Axel. The poor thing is clueless, of course he wouldn’t say anything.”

“Hey!” Axel cried. “He isn’t totally clueless.” 

The three of them laughed, and then Axel sighed.

“I should probably get back to that hellhole of a castle. Rox, here,” Axel said while handing the creature to him. “Take him. I’ll be back in a couple days!” He then turned to Xion and pointed a finger gun at her. “Nice to officially meet you, by the way.” Axel opened a corridor, saluted to his friends, and disappeared into it. 

Roxas held the creature out in front of him, and for a moment he felt as if he had a heart. Deep within him, he felt as though he had a bond with this heartless, like they were somehow connected. It almost felt as if they were two halves of one whole, two halves who were meant to be together. 

“I’m keeping him,” Roxas declared. 

Xion laughed at him. “What. Like a pet? Like Saïx would ever allow that!” 

Roxas snorted. “Just get Axel to talk to him. Works every time, trust me.”

“Well, he won’t be here for a couple of days, like he said, so what’re you gonna do til’ then? Hide him?”

“That’s exactly what I’m gonna do! Come on, we gotta get back to the castle.”

As Roxas reached out his hand to open a corridor to their home, Xion grabbed his wrist.

“Roxas,” she said. “Is that really a good idea? You’re sure it’s gonna work?”

He just smiled at her and pet the head of the creature who now sat on his shoulder.

“Of course it will! I promise.”

Xion tilted her head. “...Promise? What do you mean?” 

Roxas hummed thoughtfully. How does one explain a promise? He only just understood the concept of it not too long ago. 

“Well… It’s like…” Roxas paused, trying to think of an answer, while Xion stared at him curiously, waiting for one. 

“It’s um- It’s like…” Roxas looked around himself, around the clock tower, at the red sunset, and where they sat and shared their beloved ice cream, and it hit him.

“Oh! Me and Axel, we sit here and share an ice cream after each mission. And we- We do this because Axel, he assured me that everyday he’ll make the effort to come down here, and I assured him too. So, together we pledged to do something for each other!”

Roxas was proud of himself, but when he looked back at Xion, she still seemed confused. He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Let me try again. Um… It’s sort of like- well… It’s kind of like telling someone that you care about them enough to guarantee that you’ll do whatever for them. A promise. And it’s something you never break. So… I’ll do whatever I can to have ice cream with you every day after work, and I’ll do whatever I can to keep this little guy hidden until we know he’s safe!”

This time, Xion seemed to understand. “So, friends make promises? Then, that means we’re friends, right?” 

Roxas beamed a smile at her and nodded, and softly, she smiled back. 

“Okay, lets get home,” Xion said as Roxas began to open the corridor. “And you better not break that second promise. I don’t want us getting in trouble with…” She shivered. “Saïx.”

Roxas laughed. “Don’t worry! That won’t happen.” 

* * *

Despite Roxas’s promise to Xion, what he said would not happen… happened. 

Immediately upon their return to the castle, Roxas retreated to his room with only a quick “hello” to the rest of the organization. But coming from behind, there was the sound of footsteps chasing after him. 

“Hey! Rox, wait up!”

Roxas sighed. “Not now, Demyx. I’ll see you later.” With that, Roxas shut the bedroom door on Demyx’s face, leaving him stunned. 

“Jeez, Roxas. Fuck you too, I guess.” Demyx grumbled as he dragged himself away from the room. Annoyed, he plopped himself on the couch, where Zexion was reading his book. 

Zexion eyed his friend. “What’s got you so pouty?”

“Just wanted to talk to Roxas, that’s all. Don’t know why he was such an ass.”

“You know,” Zexion started. “He isn’t forced to talk to you. He probably just wasn’t in the mood. No one usually is, Demyx.”

Demyx scoffed. “You are.”

“Yeah, that’s cause I _am_ forced to talk to you.”

Demyx smirked and placed his chin on his friend's shoulder. “Whatcha reading?” he probed. 

“Something. Stop being annoying and let me read, Dem.” 

Demyx raised his hands up in defense and moved back to his original position on the couch. “ _Jeez,_ sorry.” 

Defeated, he summoned his sitar and started playing a tune he hoped Zexion would enjoy. Demyx looked over at the boy, and saw him smiling, although small, as he continued to read. Satisfied, he continued to play tunes he knew his friend would appreciate. 

After another five minutes, Demyx abruptly stopped playing and stood up, causing Zexion to look up at him curiously.

“You know what? I’m gonna go talk to Roxas. No one slams a door in my face!” 

“Knock yourself out, big guy,” Zexion laughed. 

With his newly found confidence, Demyx marched to Roxas’s room and, without knocking, opened the door. 

He didn’t know what he was expecting to see as he entered the room, but it definitely wasn’t a heartless sitting on Roxa’s chest. Worried and scared, Demyx began to shout.

“ZEXION! ZEXION, YOU GOTTA HELP! ROXAS IS IN TROUBLE!”

At the same time, Roxas nearly fell out of bed trying to hide the heartless. Harshly, he spat, “Demyx, you idiot! Shut the fuck up!” 

But the damage was already done, and Zexion ran to the room to find Roxas shushing Demyx as the heartless clung to his head. 

Calmly, Zexion probed, “Roxas, what the fuck is this?” 

But Roxas didn’t respond, and Zexion asked a little louder this time, “Roxas. What. The. FUCK.”

And if things couldn’t get any worse, Saïx had to show up. 

“What is with all the comoti-”

And there they all stood in silence. Roxas, who was now clinging onto the creature like it was a teddy bear, and Demyx, Zexion, and Saïx staring at him like he was completely insane. 

Nervously, Roxas finally spoke. “I guess I have some explaining to do…” 

* * *

“So,” Saïx demanded. “You want to keep this thing… as a pet?” 

“I think it’s a great idea, Rox.” Demyx shouted. “Seriously guys, just look at the thing! He’s so cute!” 

Zexion simply hummed in agreement, and that was enough for Demyx. 

“You know,” Xigbar imposed. “This physically pains me to say, but I’ve gotten agree with the dumbass here.” He shot a finger at Demyx. “Having a pet probably wouldn’t be so bad, and the thing is kind of cute. Why the fuck not?” 

Saïx put his fingers on the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You guys really wanna keep this thing?” 

To Roxas’s surprise, the group all hummed in agreement. 

Again, Saïx sighed, exasperated. “Fine, I suppose I can allow it. We can have this… thing as a pet. Roxas, you will be the one to explain this to the rest of their organization upon their return from Castle Oblivion” 

Roxas and Xion sighed in relief, and Demyx cheered. 

Luxord then chimed in. “What will we be naming this creature?” 

“Well,” Demyx said. “I think we should name it Phoenix.” 

“As if! That’s a stupid name.” Xigbar stated simply. 

Demyx gasped, genuinely offended. “No it is not! It’s cool.”

Sympathetically, Zexion patted his shoulder. “He’s right, Dem. It’s stupid.”

“Hey! You’re supposed to support me!” 

“Never have I agreed to that, Demyx. It’s a stupid name. Get over it.” 

Demyx sunk into the couch, defeated. “I thought it was cool. Had an X in it and everything. But noooo, nobody can listen to De-”

“What if we just called him X?” Xaldin interfered, speaking for the first time in the whole conversation. Demyx shot up his hands in annoyance. 

“You know what,” Roxas said, holding up his friend. “I think X is perfect for him. What do you think, little guy? Do you like X?”

The creature held up his tiny arms and squealed, clearly agreeing to the simple name X. 

“It’s settled then. The organization’s new pet will be named X.” Saïx said. He clapped his hands, shouting, “Meeting dismissed.” Then quickly, he got up and left.

As everyone left, Roxas settled into the couch with his new friend, impatient for the day Axel finally returned home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fever Days by Citizen
> 
> Hi! Thank you so much for reading. I haven't uploaded anything in a really long time, so if there's any critiques or anything, please give me them! I hope you enjoyed and I'll be back with another chapter soon :]


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